NEWS SOURCE: Southside EntertainmentNovember 1, 2013
NASHVILLE, TN — November 4, 2013 – Following multiple sell-out performances in front of nearly 120,000 people during the 2011 and 2012 holiday seasons, THE STORY TOUR, presented by World Vision, will return for the third consecutive year to arenas nationwide this Christmas, giving fans in 14 cities a chance to experience the Bible through a live multi-media experience like no other. This year’s all-star line-up once again brings together top names in Christian music, including Casting Crowns, Steven Curtis Chapman, Natalie Grant, Matthew West, Nichole Nordeman, Selah and Rawsrvnt, along with special guest author/speaker Randy Frazee and musical director Bernie Herms. The exceptional cast will also be joined by a full orchestra and children’s choir as they perform holiday favorites and selections from (Music Inspired By) THE STORY, each song telling a first-person account of a specific biblical character.
Casting Crowns’ lead singer Mark Hall, who was a part of the 2012 tour, will be joined onstage this year by other members of the award-winning band for this one-of-a kind concert experience. “When a family comes to THE STORY concert and they see, person by person, how God has moved through history, they begin to see how the Bible fits together,” says Hall. “God is working all things together for good. That is the message: that Jesus is the way to God and that He is writing our story.”
“It is so exciting to be a part of an event that helps bring the Bible to life,” adds Grant. “Watching the audience grasp these biblical truths in new ways is especially rewarding. And I believe these are some of the greatest songs ever written, so it is an honor to sing them every night.”
Throughout the evening, the artists will perform the Dove Award-winning Special Event Album of the Year (Music Inspired By) THE STORY in its entirety, taking the audience on an extraordinary journey from Genesis to Revelation. In addition, artists will perform some favorite Christmas classics, making this a memorable, must-see event for the 2013 holiday season. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.TheStoryCD.com/tour.
Released in late 2011, (Music Inspired By) THE STORY is an unparalleled project from some of the best-known artists in Christian music. Based on a collaboration with authors Randy Frazee (The Heart of the Story) and Max Lucado (God’s Story, Your Story) as well as Zondervan’s Bible The Story, the songs on THE STORY album take timeless biblical truths and provide a completely new context into how God’s narrative of love and redemption intersects with our own history of brokenness and failures resulting in a new, epic story of hope and rescue. The 2-CD set features 18 original songs written by multiple Dove Award winners Nichole Nordeman and Bernie Herms. The project is produced by Herms and Brown Bannister and features a stellar line-up of artists across all major labels, who combined have sold over 75 million albums.
This year, THE STORY TOUR is once again partnering with Christian humanitarian organization World Vision (www.worldvision.org). World Vision provides assistance to approximately 100 million people in nearly 100 countries by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.
THE STORY TOUR – 2013
11/29/13 Nashville, TN | Bridgestone Arena
11/30/13 Atlanta, GA | Philips Arena
12/02/13 Tulsa, OK | SpiritBank Event Center
12/03/13 Loveland, CO | Budweiser Events Center
12/05/13 St. Charles, MO | Family Arena
12/06/13 Grand Prairie, TX | Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie
12/07/13 Cypress, TX | Berry Center
12/08/13 Jonesboro, AR | Convocation Center
12/09/13 Columbus, OH | Schottenstein Center
12/10/13 Fairfax, VA | Patriot Center - George Mason Univ.
12/12/13 Norfolk, VA | Scope Arena
12/13/13 Pittsburgh, PA | Petersen Events Center
12/14/13 Trenton, NJ | Sun National Bank Center
12/15/13 Hershey, PA | Giant Center
About Casting Crowns
Prolific CCM band Casting Crowns has achieved major sales milestones including one RIAA 2x multi-Platinum album, three RIAA Platinum albums, two RIAA Platinum DVDs, six RIAA Gold albums, four Gold DVDs and four RIAA Gold certified digital singles. The band currently holds the position as Billboard’s top-selling act in Christian music since 2007. The group has also been honored with two American Music Awards (out of six total nominations), a GRAMMY Award for its 2005 album, Lifesong, and has received six GRAMMY nominations including three received on Dec. 5, 2012. The band has garnered 17 GMA Dove Awards and two 2012 Billboard Music Awards from six total Billboard Music Award nominations. Casting Crowns’ seven band members all remain active in student ministry in the Atlanta area and tour according to their local church commitments. Serving his 18th year in youth ministry, lead singer/songwriter Mark Hall maintains his role as the student pastor at Eagle’s Landing First Baptist Church in Atlanta.
About Steven Curtis Chapman
Steven Curtis Chapman has sold over ten million records, including two RIAA certified platinum albums and eight RIAA certified gold albums. Along with his five GRAMMY awards and 16 nominations, Chapman has won an American Music Award, has recorded 47 No. 1 U.S. radio hits and been awarded 57 Dove Awards, more than any other artist to date. Since his recording career began in 1987, Chapman has recorded 17 projects with Sparrow Records. He has performed at the White House and has appeared on multiple national programs via CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, MSNBC, CMT, FOX News, the Hallmark Channel and E!, including “Good Morning America,” “Larry King Live,” “Fox & Friends,” “Huckabee,” “CBS Sunday Morning,” “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and more. Chapman and his wife, Mary Beth, created Show Hope after bringing their first adopted daughter, Shaohannah, home from China in 2001. The ministry’s goal is to raise awareness about orphan care as well as to help families reduce the financial barrier of adoption. Now celebrating its 10th year of service, Show Hope has provided adoption grants to more than 4,000 families wishing to adopt orphans from around the world. Visit www.ShowHope.org.
About Natalie Grant
As a GRAMMY nominee, multiple GMA Female Vocalist of the Year award-winner and the top-selling Adult Contemporary female solo artist in 2005, 2006 and 2008, Natalie Grant is among a select number of artists to have achieved a formidable foothold at mainstream media and radio and has proven to be a triple-threat success as powerhouse vocalist, heart-gripping songwriter and charismatic performer in concert. With the advent of her 2005 breakthrough album, Awaken, being certified gold by RIAA, her chain of success led to GMA Female Vocalist of the Year Awards for four consecutive years (2006-2009) with a return 5th win in 2012. She recently released her eighth studio recording, Hurricane, which debuted at #1 on the Christian album charts in October.
About Matthew West
An ASCAP Christian Music Songwriter/Artist of the Year winner and lauded by The New York Times as “a vivid and compelling songwriter with impressive approaches to the familiar,” four-time GRAMMY® nominee Matthew West’s discography includes acclaimed releases: Happy (2003), History (2005), Something to Say (2008), The Story of Your Life (2010) and Into The Light (2012). His 2010 studio album, The Story of Your Life, was inspired by 10,000 stories from every state in the U.S. and 20 countries. The album garnered attention from CNN Online, Fox News, Billboard, Country Weekly, American Songwriter and more. A multiple ASCAP “Song of the Year” winner, West has had five No. 1 radio hits, including his latest record-breaking single, “Hello My Name Is.” West’s fifth studio album, Into The Light, was released last fall and was nominated for Best Contemporary Christian Album for the 55th Annual GRAMMY® Awards.
About Nichole Nordeman
Nichole Nordeman is a recording artist and songwriter for Sparrow/EMI CMG with numerous No. 1 and Top Ten singles to her credit, along with cumulative CD sales of over 1 million. A two-time Gospel Music Association winner for Female Vocalist of the Year, she has won a total of nine Dove Awards, including one recently as the lyricist on the best-selling album, (Music Inspired By) THE STORY. Nichole lives with her family in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Connect with her at www.nicholenordeman.com and @nicholenordeman on Twitter.
About Selah
Over 2.75-million-album-selling and 7-time-Dove-Award winning trio Selah, has an evolving sound that is indebted to each member’s eclectic tastes. Pianist/vocalist Allan Hall bleeds country and bluegrass; vocalist Todd Smith breathes classic rock and yesteryear’s CCM, and vocalist Amy Perry marches to the beat of pop and urban gospel. Selah’s mission is to use the gifts that God has given them to encourage the people that listen to their music and attend their concerts, “If we can remind them that God is real, and He is here, and He will take care of them, we’re doing what He wants us to do.”
About Rawsrvnt
Eddy “Rawsrvnt” Puyol is a Grammy-recognized, American recording artist and speaker with Cuban roots and the entire world on his mind. From reality television to professional sports, he has been given platforms on some of today’s largest entertainment outlets to preach, uplift, and touch hearts across the globe with the redemptive nature of God’s love.
About Randy Frazee
Randy Frazee became the senior minister of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio in 2008 where he teaches and leads in partnership with pastor and author Max Lucado. Prior to Oak Hills Church, Frazee served as teaching pastor at Willow Creek and as senior pastor at Pantego Bible Church in Fort Worth, Texas for 15 years. He is the author of The Connecting Church, Making Room for Life, The Christian Life Profile Assessment and Renovation of the Heart Student Edition. Frazee lives in the San Antonio area with his wife Rozanne, their four children and granddaughter.
About Bernie Herms
Producer…Composer…Songwriter…GRAMMY nominee. These are just a few words to describe GMA’s 2009 Producer of the Year and ASCAP’s 2007 Songwriter of the Year, Bernie Herms. His success in each of these areas has led to work with well-known artists such as Brad Paisley, Jackie Evancho, The Tenors, The Military Wives, Casting Crowns, Natalie Grant, Steven Curtis Chapman, Ruben Studdard and Cody Karey. In 2010, his work gained eight nominations at the 2010 GMA Dove Awards, more than any other nominee, including nods for Producer of the Year and Song of the Year. The 2011 Dove Awards granted nominations in the categories of Producer of the Year and Pop Contemporary Album of the Year. The 2012 Dove Awards came with a nomination and a win for Herms in the Inspirational Album of the Year category for the highly respected album, THE STORY. Herms penned the multi-week No. 1 Casting Crowns hits “Praise You In This Storm” and “East to West” and “Until the Whole World Hears.” Herms recently signed a production and publishing deal with the renowned producer David Foster and Universal Music Publishing.
The title track The Rock Won’t
Move is elegant in its folky instrumentality; a modern remake of Edward
Mote’s renown hymn Solid Rock, putting new touches to the lines “On Christ the
Solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand..” Meredith Andrew’s soul-stirring
Worthy, Worthy is the ultimate worship song in the album. My heart is
pounding as I listen to it. Her sustaining high-pitch soprano voice will surely
give any listener chills.Songs with this theme on God’s holiness &
worthiness are memorable and easy to follow because of their simplicity in
lyrical contents.
Provident Label Group is a division of Sony Music Entertainment focusing primarily on Christian music in Franklin, Tennessee. The group handles its own physical distribution through its Provident-Integrity Distribution service. Provident Label Group is affiliated byForeFront Records, Sparrow Records, and Tooth & Nail Records. Essential Worship is a community for worship leaders and teams. A place to share in conversation about songs for the church....a place to have a voice.
